Entertainment

First Video From Inside SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft [UPDATED VIDEO]

A day after the unmanned SpaceX Dragon spacecraft berthed with the International Space Station and made aerospace history, NASA astronaut Donald Pettit was the first man inside the cargo-filled vessel. His first reaction?

"The smell inside smells like a brand new car," he said, adding that the Dragon was remarkably clean and dirt-free — which was good for Pettit's sake, as he was wearing protective gear to protect himself from any debris that might've worked itself loose in the Dragon's ascent from Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to The New York Times.

Watch another video of astronauts speak to reporters from inside the Dragon:

The Dragon launched on Tuesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. On Friday, Pettit worked in unison with two other astronauts, NASA's Joe Acaba and the European Space Agency's Dutch-born Andre Kuipers, to grab the Dragon with one of the space station's robotic arms and join the two craft.

"Looks like we caught a Dragon by the tail," said Pettit after successfully completing the berthing operation.

SpaceX is the first privately-owned company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. The company is owned and operated by Elon Musk, known for founding PayPal as well as Tesla Motors, which manufactures high-tech electric cars.

"Just awesome," tweeted Musk after the attachment was made.

Dragon captured by the International Space Station! Just awesome ... img.ly/iHdp

Astronauts on board the ISS will have only a few days to move the Dragon's cargo onto the space station and fill it with equipment destined for Earth. It will depart Thursday for its planned plunge into the Pacific ocean, where it will be recovered by a SpaceX crew.

How could the SpaceX Dragon usher in a new era of space exploration? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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